"No More Auction Block" is an abolitionists' song that dates back to the slavery era in the U.S.

As for the borrowing of traditional melodies, it certainly didn't start or stop with Bob Dylan. It is part of the folk process. Long before Dylan it was done by the likes of A.P. Carter, Jimmie Rodgers, Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Pete Seeger and countless others. And since Dylan came on the scene, the practice has continued by the likes of Tom Paxton, John Prine, Steve Goodman, Utah Phillips, Kate McGarrigle and countless others.

Mike Regenstreif